Metamorphosis of a painting (unfinished)

15 x20 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper
The river today was quiet, still - broken only by the sounds of bluebirds, woodpeckers and cardinals. After a long walk with my husband Paul, I returned to the studio with a stillness in me. So, of course, I went back in the studio. I felt that I knew what to do on this painting. Sometimes the best thing you can do as an artist is to stop and let the painting sit with you. In this painting I am aiming for peace with a little tension.The peace is in the Maxwell Parrish blue and still water. The tension is with the opposing pieces of land squeezing. It is still unfinished, but closer.
I must say I love this period of time while painting - when my only job is to listen to the painting. Forget the preparatory sketches and studies it's just the two of us!

metamorphosis of a painting/unfinished

15 x 20 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper unfinished
Commissions are always challenging;so I thought why not let others see the struggle? In this particular commission the collector liked a painting I did (see December 12 20o7 archive) because of its haunting blue light. So start with that, easy, huh? No. Here is the process so far, from sketch to watercolor to first layer of pastel. I think I will go downtown to the National Gallery to be inspired by some of my friends at this stuck point.

September 30, 2008 Metamorphosis of a painting

pastel layer 3
pastel layer 4

Welcome to all my new subscribers, I am honored to share my blog with you and my ol' faithfuls.
Now you can easily see the struggles and changes a painting undergoes. I am working to create color vibrations - portray a feeling while still having a believable painting.
With vibrations there are a few things you need to consider....value, intensity and temperature. The value and intensity need to be the same but the temperature must be different. Sometimes I feel like a juggler when I paint. It's not unusual to drop a ball or two, but I try to manage thinking about it all.
Any comments loyal viewers?

September 22, 2008 Metamorphosis of a painting

stages -from small paper sketch, B&W value study and color underpainting
When working from the studio time is the real asset. You can take as much as you want and nothing changes. This work was done from the reservoir small painting I did last Friday, Sept.19th. I have decided to continue the analogous theme of green, blue- green to blue- purple. The underpainting is in the complement red family with some of the discord color-purple.
Now I get to go to pastel!
No car today...so no plein air. :-(

July 28, 2008 Mom's Field

step by step....Mom's Field 21x28
Metamorphosis of a painting.
Pencil on textured ground, oil underpainting, wiped, 1st application of pastel, 2nd layer of pastel
To me, a studio piece is very involved. The concept is strong and the image is no longer present. Therefore my ability to "dance" with the pastel is heightened. It really is an entirely different process. My Mom's favorite arias play in the background. More next time.